“Being in the forest can restore our mood.
Give us back our energy & vitality.
Refresh & rejuvenate us.
We know this deep in our bones.”
– Dr. Qing Li, Tokyo’s Nippon Medical School + world’s foremost expert in forest medicine
Natural wellness classes and workshops
Are you ready to connect with nature in a new way?
We can’t wait to meet you!
You can find all of our upcoming classes, special events, retreats and festivals on this page. Any questions, feel free to Contact Us!
Overview of Upcoming Classes & Events:
Community Classes:
To sign up for a community class, simply click “BOOK” and follow the prompts. You can sign up for a single class or purchase a class punch card at check out for reduced rates (learn about our pricing HERE). To sign up for one of our special events, keep scrolling.
Upcoming Special Events:
In Your Element’s Annual Earth Day Clean-up!
Wednesday, April 22, 6-7:15pm at Ken-O-Sha Park, Grand Rapids
Join us for an evening of giving back to nature in honor of Earth Day! During this gathering, we’ll meet at the trailhead and enjoy time as a community as we walk the trails, pick up litter, and pull invasive garlic mustard. As a thank you for coming out to help, we’ll be holding our annual raffle at the end of the event with a chance to win prizes – including a FREE IYE community class and more! To be a part of this evening, you can simply show up OR RSVP in advance to score an extra entry into our prize raffle. All ages are welcome, but children must be accompanied by an adult. We hope that you and your loved ones can join us in taking care of our local environment & celebrating Earth Day!
We have something special planned…
Loved by the Earth: A Forest Bathing & Cacao Experience with Cacao de Luca
Sat, April 25, 10am-12pm on Privately Owned Land in Ada, MI
Celebrate the spirit of Earth Day with a nourishing morning of cacao and guided forest bathing, hosted in the beauty of a privately owned forest in Ada, Michigan. Led by our guide Katie alongside Ryan DeLuca of Cacao de Luca, Loved by the Earth is a gentle experience of reconnection and reciprocity in our relationship with nature, inspired by the generous teachings of Robin Wall Kimmerer. For a full overview of what this program will include and to register to join us, head to our class calendar HERE. 18 spots are available, be sure to sign up early if you know you’d like to come! We hope to have you there.
Registration: $45
Notes: This special event is hosted on private land in Ada, with the exact address to be shared after registration in honor of our hosts privacy. There are no formal restrooms on the property, please plan accordingly and use the bathroom before you arrive!
Guided Shinrin-yoku: Relax & Reconnect in Nature
Thursday, May 7, 6-8pm at Blandford Nature Center, Grand Rapids
Join us as we breathe deep, relax, and explore the beauty of spring at Blandford Nature Center (BNC)! We’re thrilled to be continuing our monthly Shinrin-yoku inspired programs at BNC, and as always, our program will start with a brief introduction to the background and research of forest bathing, how it differs from a hike, and why it’s internationally recognized as an effective tool for natural stress release. From there, you’ll be guided in a relaxing forest bathing session while exploring the beautiful woods and meadows at Blandford; helping you calm your mind, reconnect to nature, and experience your time outdoors in a new way. We hope you’ll join us as we slow down, find presence, and enjoy the wilderness of BNC through the lens of guided forest bathing!
Program Includes: a sit pad and blanket to use during the program, hot stone hand warmers (for cold weather programming), essential oils for meditation, wild foraged tea and a small snack
General Public Registration: $30
Blandford Members Save 20% and register for $25.60!
Lifelong Learning at Kellogg Community College: Wild Food Foraging with Katie
Wednesday, May 20, 10:30am-12pm at the Hastings Campus
Join our guide Katie for a wild food foraging class at the Hastings Campus of Kellogg Community College, in partnership with their Lifelong Learning Programs! This is a great class to take as a beginner forager, or if you’ve been joining us for a while, it’s an opportunity to test your ID skills and learn in a new environment. Learn more & register to save your spot via the ticket link below. We hope to see you there!
Registration: $30
Foraged Green Powders Workshop at Gathered Botanicals
Saturday, June 13, 10:30am-12:30pm at Gathered Botanicals, Grand Rapids
Green powder supplements are a great way to boost your energy and nutrition, but the $30 price tag for store bought varieties can be a barrier to including them in your diet. During this workshop – led by Katie and inspired by her love of wild, foraged green powders – you’ll learn how to create your own powders at home using plants harvested from your yard, local forests, and meadows. We’ll begin with a plant identification walk at Highland Park to help you learn how to ID wild plants that work well in green powders, then we’ll walk back to the shop for tea and hands-on instruction, including how to dry and powder your harvests, how to maintain a rolling jar of seasonal greens on your countertop, and more. You’ll also get to create your own 3oz green powder blend to take home and try! We hope you’ll join us to expand your knowledge of Michigan plants and bring healthy green powders into your life.
Registration: $45
Upcoming Festivals
2026 Great Lakes Foragers Gathering
June 18-21, 2026, Frog Holler Farms in Brooklyn, Michigan
We’re SO excited to be a part of the 15th Great Lakes Foragers Gathering, hosted by Will Forage For Food in the beautiful Irish Hills region of southeast Michigan. This is an epic annual wild food weekend that we look forward to every year, with an abundance of classes on offer, hands-on learning, wild foraged food at every meal (meals included in your event ticket), and time to make your foraging friends. At this year’s gathering, our guide Katie will be leading a Mindfulness for Foragers session, where we’ll be exploring the natural connection we all feel outside and discussing some new perspectives and simple mindfulness techniques to help you expand your foraging skillset, enhance your habitat recognition, and deepen your connection to your food. Whether you are new to foraging or are a seasoned harvester, this is THE Michigan-based event to level-up your foraging knowledge. We can’t recommend it highly enough and we hope to see you there!
2026 Wild Zen Yoga Festival
July 17-19, 2026, Smiling Acres Festival Grounds, Trufant, MI
We’re excited to join the Wild Zen Yoga Fest for the FIFTH year in a row! At the 2026 fest, our guide Katie will be leading a nature therapy experience centered around the festival’s ever-growing and changing community nature mandala. This is a wonderful and intimate festival, with a great community, beautiful nature, and a diverse schedule of offerings to help you explore not just yoga, but breathwork, cacao, mindful movement, sound, and more. Head to the Wild Zen Yoga page HERE to learn more and grab your ticket! We’d love to see you there!
Upcoming Retreats
Stay tuned for upcoming retreats!
Our Credentials
We’ll see you in the forest!